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hello at smartbeautycreative .com to find out
more. Hello and welcome to the Smart Beauty Podcast.
I'm your host, Viola Levy, beauty journalist
and founder of copy led branding agency Smart
Beauty Creative. We're here to create your brand
voice and craft the story behind it. Today I'm
joined by Roshan Dorsett, founder of The Glossary,
a pioneering whole food, superfood skincare brand
built on the philosophy that what you put on
your body should be as nutritious as what you
put in it. In this episode, Rishan shares her
fascinating journey from working in criminal
and human rights law to becoming a natural skincare
formulator and entrepreneur. Yes, she formulates
her own products. We discussed how she self -funded
her business by working double shifts, her commitment
to cold pressed nutrient dense ingredients, and
the challenges of building an indie beauty brand
from the ground up. If you're interested in sustainable
beauty, entrepreneurship, or just curious about
how natural skincare products are actually formulated,
you're in for a treat. Reshan offers incredibly
candid insights into pricing strategies, building
community, navigating retail partnerships, and
staying true to your brand values in a crowded
market. The Glossary has already won beauty awards
and developed cult products like their Clean
Green Superfood Serum, all while maintaining
their commitment to eco -friendly practices and
high performance natural formulations. So whether
you're an aspiring founder, skincare enthusiast,
or someone who's just interested in how beauty
businesses can thrive, I know you'll find value
in our chat today. Let's dive in. So Rishan,
thank you so much for joining me on the podcast.
Really lovely to have you on the show. Thank
you for having me. I'm really excited to be here.
So you launched The Glossary with kind of a fresh
perspective on natural skincare. What inspired
you to create the brand and what kind of gap
did you see in the market that you felt like
the time was right for a brand like The Glossary
to launch? Before I was a founder of a skincare
brand or a natural skincare formulator. I was
working in criminal and human rights law as a
paralegal. So I was handling joint enterprise
murder and public law cases. And the job really
required me to go to a lot of high security prisons
and Crown courts. And they don't really teach
you this at uni that whilst I have a passion
for justice, they don't teach you the emotional
management side of going into those kind of high
intensity cases. Yeah. So I just remember being
like, I think I was a bit bewildered, really.
I remember thinking, oh, this doesn't really
align with me. I'm not really like I don't really
feel comfortable. The emotional stress of it
all. And I it all came to I kind of ignored that.
But it all came to a head about a year and a
half later. And I just remember breaking down
in my kitchen to my mum and my sister. And I
was just I'm just not happy. I don't feel fulfilled
in this role. So I quit and. when I quit I was
looking for ways to get back to my normal bubbly
self. I have quite like a positive outlook on
life, quite a high energy personality and I feel
like that job had just taken all of that from
me. So on that journey I started then exploring
wellness and that eventually led me down to veganism
and then as I was being more conscious of what
I was putting into my body that natural curiosity
then branched out to my skincare routine. And
I was just really frustrated. And I think I was
just also really annoyed that I was spending
money paying a premium price for ingredients
that had little to no nutritional benefit to
my skin, that were really ultra processed, that
were really synthetic, that weren't really good
for my skin's health or the health of the environment.
So I thought there's clearly a need for like
nutrient rich skincare here that looks after
your skin and looks after the planet. So that's
how I decided then to retrain as a natural skincare
formulator and then eventually launch the Glow
Sweet. So it's been a bit of a journey, but I
can see that all needed to happen for me to get.
Yeah. So you actually formulate the product.
So like many founders, they kind of outsource
that side of things, but you are actually putting
these formulas together and actually, yeah, Yeah,
I kind of describe it like Breaking Bad, if anyone's
watched Breaking Bad, but just using natural
ingredients. So that's what I'm like, making
sure the formulas work. So that's the part that
I really do enjoy. It does take quite a long
time, but I really do enjoy that creative process.
And when you finally get it, and then as the
brand has received like beauty awards and recognition
from different press houses, you're like, it's
like extremely rewarding. So when people ask
you about your products, you can really go into
the weeds and sort of go into the, you know,
delve into the actual granular science as opposed
to just telling a nice marketing story. Exactly.
Exactly. I know what's in there. Yeah. And that
makes a difference because I think so many customers
now want brands to be transparent about what
exactly is in the products, how the formulas
actually work. And I think that a lot of brands
still are struggling to be upfront and honest,
because a lot of them still don't really know
they're kind of, well, we'll check with the formulators
and then get back to you. There's kind of that
secondhand knowledge that I think creates sort
of issues when it was from a customer's perspective.
Exactly that. And there seems to be, sorry, carry
on. No, no, no, no, I said I just wanted, I wanted
to have that conviction because I didn't have
any beauty contacts or beauty knowledge prior
to that course. I wanted I wanted to have the
confidence that if someone did challenge me about
what was in the product I knew I could say this
is the ingredients list, this is why we've put
it in. So that's also why I decided to manufacture
myself. Did anything when you were studying shock
or surprise you when it comes to like formulating
how products are formulated? Yeah when I suppose
when I was doing that initial initial search
of the different beauty brands and what they
were using. I think what just really shocked
me is that there's still the misconception that
natural skincare doesn't work. And that course
taught me that actually if you use high quality,
high performance ingredients, you can get incredible
results. And then I was also shocked that there's
still a misconception that luxury price tags
means luxury ingredients like even this week
i've gone into beauty aisles and i've read some
of the ingredients that are in some of these
established luxury brands and it's micro plastics
it's petrochemicals it's really cheap industrialized
ingredients and i'm like wow i i didn't the customer
doesn't know that not a lot of customers know
this so yeah it's quite shocking Definitely.
And I feel like when it comes to superfoods,
there's a lot of crossover into things like skincare
and haircare. Would you say that's the case?
And do you think that's kind of going to set
to continue? Yeah, I definitely see the, people
keep talking about the intersection between skincare
and wellness. And I definitely think we're going
to see that in the coming years in the beauty
industry. People want to look after themselves.
I suppose from a holistic level and skincare
does play a part of that and so does what you
eat, so does your lifestyle, how you talk about
yourself, so I definitely see that interconnectedness
growing. How did you land on the concept of cold
pressed superfoods and how important was it kind
of finding that niche when starting your brand?
It was just, it was from the connection of being
vegan so I was, I just started eating more fresh
fruits and vegetables and it was just that I
just had more energy, my brain fog cleared, I
just felt more comfortable in myself. So naturally
when I started then thinking about what ingredients
that I wanted to use in the glossary, it was
that natural progression to cold press, because
for me cold press retain more of the nutrients
of that fruit and vegetable. Yes. So in order
to have a high performance nutrient dense product,
I knew I wanted to use a majority of those ingredients.
And Yeah, I suppose reflecting from my diet and
the positive impacts that I've had, it just made
sense for me to carry that through to my skincare
routine as well. Yeah, definitely, because it's
not about just what you ingest, but you're putting
stuff on your skin that's then being absorbed
into your bloodstream, so it makes a lot of sense.
And a lot of niche founders, I think, struggle
to stand out in a crowded market. What would
be your advice to other brand founders when it
comes to storytelling and really kind of setting
yourself apart from all of the industry noise
that's out there? That's a really good question.
I would definitely say you have to think about
your why and why you started it and then how
it aligns with your, I suppose, personal story.
A lot of founders that have a lot of brands that
are really successful, they just remember their
founder story. Even if you haven't connected
with that founder in real life, you've seen their
story across digital or across social, and it
just sticks in your head. So you have to get
really granular of how I suppose your personal
frustrations have then allowed you to create
a brand that's solving an issue for you and people
for your target consumer. So that's how I went
about it with the GlowCity. So I think you really
need to... What is your why? I suppose Simon
Sinek always says it, what is your why? And how
have you used that why then to create your brand
or your service that you're putting out into
the world? Yeah, because that's really the heart
of your brand. It's not just the products, but
why have you created them? Because there's so
much that's already out there. Like, what is
it that you're adding that... Yeah, people haven't
seen before. So I think that's super important.
Yeah. And also when it comes to words like natural
and green and clean, there's obviously like a
lot of misinformation out there, a lot of brands
paying lip service to the issue. I mean, how
would you advise beauty founders kind of communicate
transparency and efficacy without kind of falling
into the trap of green washing, like from drawing
from your own experience with the glossary? Yeah,
so we try and avoid using words like clean or
green because they don't really have a standard
definition. And I think a lot of the brands,
there's a lot of brands doing it well, don't
get me wrong. But then I also think it's been
used by people who are not doing it so well to
try and greenwash and pretend that they're also
being more sustainable. So I would say that there's
little things that brand founders could do. So
here at the glossary. As you've already mentioned,
we use cold pressed ingredients. They've been
processed using little to no heat. We then use
eco -friendly packaging materials. So all of
our craft paper boxes, all our boxes are craft
paper. So is our tape. And then even down to
our package of peanuts, they're biodegradable.
So there's little things that you can shout about
that actually make a big difference to consumers
and customers looking to support. beauty brands
like us without having to, I don't know, shout
too loudly about being clean because I think
the beauty consumers are becoming really a lot
more savvy now and they can see through the mud,
they can see through it all. So I think just
being really clear on just the little things
that you're doing because at the end of the day,
a lot of us independent brands, we are usually
a small team, a team of one, so even the small
differences that you are making can add up to
incredible change. Definitely, and I think sort
of being eco -friendly, it's not really even
a sort of USP anymore, it's like a standard.
Yeah, I think even like veganism and cruelty
free, I think it's like a hygiene issue, I think
all brands should really be trying to strive
towards that. I couldn't agree more. And when
it comes to community, obviously that's very
important to your brand. How did you go about
building the community around the glossary? And
how would you kind of advise other beauty founders,
create a community from scratch, organically?
Because I imagine that's no easy task. So what
were the... So it's interesting that you said
that because even, I think it was like a couple
of weeks ago, I had... sat I sat down and had
conversations with 15 of our VIP customers and
I just really got to know them because I got
to a point where I had to hold my hands up and
be like okay I don't really know them I know
what their favorite products I know how frequently
they buy but I didn't really know where they
were shopping what they done in their spare time
what they like to splurge on what they like to
save on how do they enjoy how do they take time
out to enjoy themselves or relax so I sat down
with 15 of them via zoom and then just had a
chat with them and it was and it was really nice
i remember coming off the course just feeling
on a high because it was just so nice to get
to know them and then for them to get to know
me and it didn't and it didn't cost anything
it cost what a afternoon and some free products
for the people that took the calls with me in
return for incredible insights that I can then
implement into the glossaries, digital strategies
and new product development strategies. So I
would say to any founders doing it, you don't
have to spend so much on expensive focus groups.
You can literally just book in Zoom calls. And
the community, they really enjoyed it. And now
I've just really built some great connections
with some of the glossaries. VIP customers. I
would definitely say you can do it on a small
or no budget and I would definitely say bringing
them along the journey. So I've got better at
doing it now, but storytelling on socials and
showing them the process. So I'm trying to create,
launch new products this year and I've just asked
them what do you want to see from the glossary?
What ingredients would you like? What benefits
would you like to the product to have, even down
to the packaging what would you like it to look
like and that creates just a bit of excitement
and creates a bit more brand loyalty than just
creating products that I want to release. Yeah
and it shows that you're listening to your customers
as well and it's kind of a circular process because
then the products that you're putting out you
know that that's what they are interested in
and what they're going to buy. Exactly. which
I think is hugely important. And when it comes
to funding, obviously that is a huge barrier
to a lot of startups. How did you self -fund
in the early days of the Glossary and what advice
would you give to other founders? So I actually
worked two jobs. I remember how I used to work
two part -time jobs, and then I left to go work
in a warehouse because I was just able to earn
more money. So it was quite intense, but I remember
at the time, even though I was absolutely exhausted,
I was just like, you're doing it for a reason,
this is not gonna be the long term. So I was
able to save up, I can't remember the exact amount,
but I know it was under 5K. And then I used that
5K to then invest in the branding. So we've got
professional book branding done. I then had to
bulk buy the ingredients, packaging, then done
the website development and then all our product
safety testing. So yeah, it was kind of a hard
graft at the time because I was doing back -to
-back shifts. I would do daytime at one job and
then go work a night shift in the other. So yeah,
quite intense. I know, quite intense. It enabled
me to save enough for the initial investment.
What kept you going through that time? Because
I imagine it was, yeah, it must have been like
a real kind of test of your faith in the brand
and your kind of dream for what you were wanting
to build. Yeah, it was horrible, but there was
no other way around it. I couldn't rely on a
friends and family round. I didn't really know
all. understand like VC investment or agent investment,
if I'm totally being honest at the beginning
of my journey. So I just had to get my head down
and yeah, push through it. I think there's a
lot of gatekeeping when it comes to advice with
regards to what you just mentioned. What would
you say are like the best kind of, did you sort
of like find any resources or things that you
know now that you didn't know then that you wish
you'd kind of found out about? Yeah, so I learned
about local grants, so I didn't know this initially.
So where I'm based, you can get local grants
from the council. So I didn't know that, but
I know that now. And then I found out about Virgin
Startup and then they offer business loans, but
they have a more comfortable interest or repayment
terms than banks do. But even to this day, how
many years in I'm into my journey, I still don't
understand how to go about finding like VC investment.
People have said LinkedIn, and I'm like, but
that just takes such an amount of time and you
need to get really granular of who you're looking
for. If you don't know who you're looking for,
how could then you go and search for it? But
I've also been told that there's found out from
a hundred allies actually that there's brokers
that you can use who can then go out and find
you VCs or angel investment. So you're not doing
it yourself, but close to five years old now.
And I've just learned about that. So yeah, I
mean, that's the problem. If the information
isn't freely available, if you don't, you know,
if you don't know, you don't know. And it's a
huge barrier for a lot of, for a lot of startups.
And also you built the Glossary through organic
marketing and social media, which is incredible.
What strategies would you say worked best when
it came to generating visibility without having
that huge budget? Yeah. So it was definitely
organic influencer outreach and then PR. And
then I started just attending networking events.
So with the organic outreach to influencers,
before I even before I even started launching
the Glowstreet, I had my Instagram platform and
I would go through other brands and see who was
liking their upper aligned brands and see what
influencers were liking their posts. And then
I would just follow them and then start building
up, I suppose, digital relationship through liking
their content, maybe was commenting. And I started
building up that relationship that way. And then
I worked with an incredible freelance PR from
the beginning. and she was just a powerhouse.
They just was able to get us into such incredible
press. I do think, looking back as well, really
great work ethic, but you know how they say,
also luck comes into it. It was during COVID,
everyone was at home, everyone was looking. Yes,
everyone was wanting to improve their skincare
routines. Also, around the Black Lives Matter
movement, people were looking to support more
black owned brands. So I do think that it worked
hand in hand. And then I then started joining
Alliance Communities. So as I mentioned, I joined
Virgin Startup, started to go into a lot of those
master classes and then founder led events. And
then I also joined the Stack World by Sharma
Dean Reed. And she also had a lot of founder
led, creative led events that I went to as well.
I just started, I suppose, putting my brand out
there, I suppose, leading as the face of the
brand. So there was a way that I was able to
do it with little to no cost really. That's amazing.
I'm a member of the stack world as well. I think
it's such an incredible resource. Business owners
and Charmadine is obviously like a powerhouse.
And who was that? Do you want to name drop the
freelance PR that you worked with? Yeah, so she's
not I don't think she's doing it now. I know
she now works. Yeah, she works. She's gone back
in brand side. She works with a brand now doing
influencer marketing. Yeah. Yeah. And obviously,
like the skincare space is very competitive.
How do you kind of balance that with being sort
of purpose driven alongside the kind of commercial
realities of always having to kind of keep up
with the trends and, you know, being innovative
and kind of one step ahead. It's a really good
question. I think here at The Glows of Me, we're
all about, I suppose, long -term skin health.
So I don't really get caught up in the trends.
I don't, yeah, I don't really know. I suppose
it's like a personal preference. I see the trends
and then I see... thousands of beauty brands
come up with like lip oils or they'll try and
catch the wave of like a TikTok trend. And that
doesn't really align with what we want to do
here at the Glow. So we were all about, you know,
minimal skincare that has high performance effects.
So I also do think speaking to our customers,
our customers aren't really duped by the trends
either. I was going to say, I don't think customers
are that bothered. No, it just doesn't, and it's
just expensive. I'm not going to create a whole
new... You're churning out stuff that goes against,
you know, sustainability. Yeah, it's not ethical,
it's not sustainable. So yeah, I don't really
get caught up in that. Some brands do it and
I think the brands that do do it well are the
brands that do have that budget behind them or
suppose they do have that celebrity -led founder.
and that makes sense for them to do that but
given the values that we have here it just doesn't
really align with the purpose. Yeah I think if
you've got like a strong heartfelt story that's
really authentic to you and people can resonate
with that's all that you really need isn't it
as opposed to trying to go viral on TikTok. Yeah
I'm not going to bring out a little just because
it's trending you know what what is that I'm
just adding to the millions of products that
are already out there. No, 100%. And going back
to the idea of kind of a lot of knowledge and
resources being kind of withheld from a lot of
sort of startups. Pricing, I think is a huge
issue for Rindy Beauty brands. And they're really...
From speaking to founders like yourself, there
doesn't really seem to be that much information
out there on how to price your product. So what
factors did you consider when setting your pricing
and how do you think founders can make their
products value driven and accessible without
kind of undermining the brand? Yeah, that's a
really good point. I would have really understood
it had it not been for the course. So the course
that I took with Forno Britannica, it was an
international entrepreneur program. And it did
have a section on pricing. So it of course included
your raw ingredients, your packaging. I've also
been told that you should include your shipping
in there as well. And then also factor in your
margins if you want to go to retail. because
again I didn't know this until I started then
reaching out to retailers how much a margin these
retailers take it can be up to like 70 % and
I was thrown off by that I didn't think it would
be anywhere close to that so yeah I would say
definitely raw ingredients packaging most definitely
your time as well and I think we don't really
factor in Well, if you're self formulating, people
tend not to factor in their time, but that is
also important because that's the bulk of it,
especially that's the bulk amount of time, formulating,
shipping costs. And then you also really need
to factor in those margins for retail, because
if your margins aren't correct, then retail is
just going to swallow you whole. That's the thing
people think, oh, when they get into a retailer,
that's kind of the end of the rainbow. you know
role credits but actually that's when the real
work begins because there's not really much profit
to be made from what you're saying and then you
have to pay up again i wasn't i didn't know until
i started reaching out to these retailers and
speaking to my other founder friends that you
also have to pay for the marketing and any promotions
that they do depending on where you sit on the
shelf it's yeah it's just so expensive so so
expensive Would you say that's one of the biggest
challenges that you faced as an indie beauty
brand founder? Yeah, for sure. And also, yeah,
it's not when you're having these conversations
with retailers, it's not really upfront. They
don't say, okay, it's going to cost this much
until you're further down the line, I suppose,
until you're further to agreeing to be on that
retail in that retailer. So it is quite. It is
quite daunting going into it as an indie brand,
knowing that your margins are already severely
cut and that on top of that, there's additional
costs from, as I mentioned, the marketing and
the promotion. So it is a hindrance, which is
why here at The Ghost, we're looking more for
the indie, smaller retailers to start with before
going to, I suppose, the big guys. Yeah, that
sounds like a really good strategy. Were there
any other kind of major challenges? I mean, I'm
sure there were, but what are the kind of main
ones that you think are very kind of universal
when it comes to launching a skincare line? I
think for me, coming from the law industry, it
was a lot of fears. So there was obviously the
imposter syndrome, not really knowing anyone
in the industry or not really knowing if I, if
what I was doing was good enough, I had to come,
I had to get to terms with that. I really at
the beginning and just trusting that it would
work out really during 11, we launched 11 days
before COVID. And I remember starting to see
the news. Yeah, I remember starting to see the
news trickling. And I thought, This can't be
real life. I've gone through all those back -to
-back shifts. We're finally in the process of
launching and now the world seems like it's about
to shut down. So switching from, I suppose, a
lack to a growth mindset was really, really key
from the outset. And just trusting that it was
going to be okay. I had come so far in law, so
I suppose I really had to tell myself to pick
my heart. I could have stayed in law. and struggled
along doing that or I could have found my feet
and worked harder in building a skincare brand,
but at least I knew that I was happy and fulfilled
doing it. So there had to be a quick mindset
shift that I really had to adopt because it's
hard. It is extremely challenging. I think mindset
shift is kind of the key to successful entrepreneurism.
I know from my own experience that, you know,
the rewards are so incredible, but you just have
to stay in that everything's gonna be all right
mentality. And it's like, some days I'm like
on the high and other days I'm like, got my head
in my hands, like, what have I done? I'm with
you, I'm having a good week this week but who
knows what tomorrow may bring, you just never
know. Exactly, it's a whole roller coaster of
emotions. It is, it is, it is, that blind faith
but as you said the rewards are just amazing.
Yeah and I truly think that entrepreneurship
is going to be the great leveller in our society.
When it comes to, you know, building an industry
that we want to see that, you know, having true
equality and feeling empowered in the workplace,
I think that, you know, entrepreneurship is the
only way that we're going to level the playing
field. I don't know. I totally agree. No, I totally
agree. Taking the control back. Yeah, because
I feel you can't succeed in systems that weren't
set up. No, you can't, especially. Going with
the how the UK government is at the minute. I
just don't think they want people to Really survive
like in I suppose nine to five you get to a certain
paid limb pay threshold and then the government
takes forty percent then sixty percent is What
is how are you gonna feel inspired to work harder
when you know that? You're just gonna half your
wage is going back to the government. It's just
no incentive to keep to keep working hard. And
they work you hard in corporate. It's not okay.
Oh my gosh, yes. Work to the bone. And just that,
you know, having to dilute your personality to
fit into corporate culture, code switching, I'm
sure you have experience of that. And, you know,
if you're neurodivergent, having to kind of mask,
it's just exhausting, isn't it? It's wind clipping
a bit. It didn't align with me. I think you have
to be a certain personality type to get on with
corporate. And it just... Yeah, didn't agree
with me at all. And when it comes to just circling
back to sustainability, obviously, you know,
to be sustainable costs more. How would you kind
of advise founders who want to be as sustainable
as possible, but they're working with a smaller
budget. So if they want to find sustainable suppliers,
they, you know, obviously have to work out how
they're going to balance everything. because
obviously it costs more than working with kind
of regular suppliers. That's true I would say
look choose one thing so we can't we can't be
sustainable well you can but at a smaller level
you can't be sustainable at everything so for
me I've chosen to go with ingredients but people
might want to choose going with I don't know
a ethical manufacturer or really getting down
to the nitty -gritty of their packaging they
might want to be using sugar cane packaging instead
of plastic packaging like choose something and
do that really well and then I suppose you don't
have to worry about the extra costs of trying
to be sustainable in all areas so I suppose that's
where it's gonna that's where it's gonna eat
into your margins that's where it's just gonna
cause excessive stress choose one thing and then
in your marketing, in your brand strategy, shout
about you being the best in that one thing. And
then as you grow, you can start, I suppose, branching
out into more sustainable processes. But in the
meantime, while you're still in that growing
phase, I think, as I mentioned, picking one thing
and just doing that incredibly well and knowing
and backing yourself that, okay, I've got the
best cold pressed ingredients. And then going
from there is a really great, great starting
point. Definitely, and telling a transparent
story about it. So rather than saying, we're
not fully sustainable yet. But we're trying.
We're trying our best. It's like all of us, exactly.
I'm supposed we're not sustainable in all areas,
but we're all doing our bit. And the customer
just values that authenticity rather than, I
suppose, as you mentioned earlier, trying to
shout about you being clean in all areas, but
you're not doing all the areas right. or at the
best of your ability. Yeah, because you will
get found out eventually. They'll sniff you out.
Yeah, they will. Yes, exactly. And in this digital
age, people... No one's safe. Oh, no one. No
one. What product would you say you're the most
proud of? Like, what would you say is like kind
of your baby that kind of encapsulates the range
the best? I would definitely say it's our...
Clean Green Superfood Serum. So that was one
of the first products that we launched. And it's
really good for restoring your skin's natural
glow, locking in moisture and brightening any
dullness that you may be experiencing. And it
honestly took me such a long time to formulate.
Because I was using cold pressed ingredients
and they have various different natural scents
and textures. Every time that I was going through
that formulation process, it just felt like I
was taking two steps back and I just couldn't
get the skin feel right. So the skin feel alone,
working with the, I believe we've got about 20
ingredients in there, just took such a long time
just for the skin feel and then for the natural
scent. So we use natural essential oils in there
as well. I believe there's five, rose geranium,
bergamot, lemongrass, tea tree and lavender.
then trying to get those into a really nice,
like, sensual experience, but also mask, not
totally mask, but also complement the natural
sense of the cold press oils. Just took ages.
I must have exhausted my mum and my sister by
going, what do you think of this, Mal? Try this,
what do you think of this? They were the guinea
pigs. They were the guinea pigs. And I remember
my sister just being like, yeah. it's okay and
I'm like no you need to give me a bit more emotion
she's in physiotherapy so beauty is not her um
area but I was just like no I need I need more
from you so that really took a long time but
once I got it right it has been it has become
a cult product and it's the product that most
people who try the Glow Sue for the first time
they usually try clean greens and then they tend
to branch out into other products and it was
also the product that won best facial oil in
the West Women's Health Beauty Awards. So we
launched it in March and by September we had
won that which is just again just testament to.
Amazing. I know thank you. Congratulations. Thank
you. I'm really proud of that one. And what's
the kind of big picture vision for the glossary,
like five or 10 years time? What would be, what's
on your kind of vision board if you're into that?
What would be the dream for you? That's a really
big question. And I think about this all the
time. So I definitely see the girls who develop
it into more of a lifestyle brand where we encompass
really nourishing whole food ingredients that
take care of your skin from the inside out. So
branching into aligned sectors also becoming
more of a community led brand. I do want to have
in the future IRL flagship stores. I also do
see it being a sort of like holistic wellness
brand that encompasses products, services that
also just cater to your environment of healthy
skin. Of course here in the UK. ever filled abroad.
So yeah, the vision board is vast and it keeps
and it keeps changing every day. But I'm like,
no, I will. I will achieve this one step in one
step in front of the other. That's all I that's
all I say to myself consistency. And I'll get
there. I'll get there. I'm sure you will. And
yeah, I'm sure you've kind of heard the news
about Carol's daughter and how it's been reacquired
by the founder. I mean, would you be um ideally
be eyeing up kind of being um acquired by a conglomerate
would that be on the cards for you do you think?
I don't know at this such early stage I just
don't I don't know I would have to say I don't
know but never say never never but if it was
to be acquired it would have to be a bigger company
that really does align with the grocery values
and if we was even considering something like
that there would be stringent questions that
I would have to ask them to make sure that they're
taking care of the brand because I've seen it,
I've seen it with especially black owned brands
when they do become acquired there does seem
to be a level of distrust from the customers
that the brand the conglomerate that is acquiring
the brand is then gonna stick to the same formulas.
So it would have to be like a due diligence to
make sure that even though they're taking over
the brands, maybe I'm involved in the product
development side so we can make sure that future
products are still aligning with the grocery
values despite a change of ownership because
I get it. I totally get it. People do. think
that these bigger brands, I mean we see in the
industry they do acquire these brands, all of
a sudden they're no longer using glass packaging,
they're using plastic, they're using filler ingredients,
they've changed the formula. So at this stage
I can't see it but I would say never say never.
No definitely, I mean there are some larger conglomerates,
won't name names, but are kind of notorious for
buying brands and kind of bleeding them dry,
rinsing them for what they're worth and then
discarding them. It's horrible. And you think
that that poor founder, they've spent their whole
life building it up. It's just an incredible
moment to be able to, okay, I've achieved the
heights that I have. Now let me pass the baton
so that they can then build on it. And they just,
they crumble. It's horrible to see. Really, really
awful. But on to happier things. What is kind
of in the immediate future that you're allowed
to talk about when it comes to the glossary?
Like any cool new excuse on the horizon or anything
else that you care to share? Yes, we're working
on two new products. So they've been quite challenging,
I have to say. I think this is one of the, if
there is a negative to formulating your own products,
this is one of them that It just takes such a
long time. And running the business and trying
to formulate new products is just extremely,
it's a balancing act, but no exciting things.
Yes, to say the least. Yes, to say the least.
Two new products, one in a new category that
I'm really excited about. And then we have a
really innovative, high performance product coming
later on. in the year so around q4 but i don't
want to say too much yet but it is i'm really
excited the benefit the efficacy of the product
the texture i've already been um testing and
sampling the initial um samples and it's and
it's great so i'm really really excited to get
some new products out oh fantastic well can't
wait to hear um more about it when you're when
you're able to definitely when i can i'll definitely
show it more for sure Fantastic. Well, Rishan,
thank you so much for joining me on the show.
It was really lovely chatting with you. Hopefully
get you back on at some point. Yes, I would love
that. Thank you so much for having me. I've really
enjoyed our conversation. I hope you enjoyed
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